Ephesians 1:18
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened;
that ye may know what is the hope of his calling,
and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
It is an amazing thing to discover that even when the distinctive nature of The Dispensation of The Mystery has been seen, there are some who go back to 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4 for the revelation of their hope. In the nature of things, The Hope of any calling must be in agreement with its peculiarities of sphere and constitution, and it is therefore impossible that The Hope of Israel should also be The Blessed Hope of The Church of The Mystery. It may, of course, be objected that 1 Thessalonians 4 does not represent The Hope of Israel. This, therefore, we must examine.
The Acts of The Apostles opens with The Hope of Israel (Acts 1:6; Acts 3:19-26) and closes with The Hope of Israel in Acts 28:20. This Hope, therefore, is in operation throughout the whole Book and period. It is outside the scope of this teaching to do more than point out simple facts, and we will therefore deal only with The Hope of the Church at the time when Paul wrote the Epistle to the Romans. This must, however, be identical to The Hope of all other churches that came under the same dispensation.
The reader has only to turn to Isaiah 11:1-16 to which Acts refers as The Hope of Israel, to prove beyond the possibility of doubt that The Hope of the "Church" in Rome at this time was Millennial. The reference to the Archangel in 1 Thess. 4:16 makes another link with Israel, as does the connecting passage in 2 Thess. 2:3-10 where the Man of Sin is spoken of. In 1 Cor. 1:7, the "Coming" of The Lord is actually the "Revelation" or "Apocalypse."
The Hope of The Church of The Mystery must be the realization of the calling that places it far above all principalities at the right hand of God, a Hope that is far removed from Isaiah 11:1-16. It is set forth in Col. 3:4, where it is associated with The Manifestation in Glory when Christ Himself shall be made manifest.
The Hope of any company of believers must, of necessity, be the realization of their calling. It is obvious that The Calling of The Church in Ephesians differs materially in sphere, constitution, and destiny from that of the Church at Rome, Thessalonica, Corinth, or anywhere during the time of the Book of Acts. The Hope of these churches must be the fruition of the covenants that were then in force, namely, the covenant with Abraham and the new covenant with Israel and Judah. Members of The Church of The Mystery are taught to set their minds on things above and that their Hope is that when Christ shall be Manifested, they will be there with Him, not in the air or in the New Jerusalem, but "in Glory."
